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Marine careers imperative to industry growth - MarineBusinessWorld Oceania newsletter

by Peter Rendle 17 Oct 2024 23:00 BST
700 school students went thorugh BIA's Careers Day at the Sydney International Boat Show © Boating Industry Association

The Boating Industry Association Ltd (BIA) has announced the acquisition of Marine Jobs demonstrating its commitment to the promotion of careers in the marine industry.

Marine Jobs was launched in 2021 as an online recruitment platform as a partnership between the Marinas Industry Association, Superyacht Australia and BIA. BIA's strategic acquisition will help focus efforts to develop and grow Marine Jobs beyond online recruitment to a wider program promoting the marine industry as a desirable career path.

From New Zealand a new report shows superyacht visitors injected $212m into the New Zealand economy in the 2023/4 season. The report has been released as New Zealand ramps up its superyacht attraction initiatives. Commissioned by NZ Marine and conducted by Market Economics Limited, the report highlights the vital role superyachts play in contributing to New Zealand's marine and tourism industries. The report's release comes as the NZ Marine Industry Association debuts its 2025/6 guidebook in Barcelona; Destination and Cruising New Zealand.

Staying with NZ and offering stunning panoramic views and unprecedented cruising opportunities, Waiheke Island Marina on Hauraki Gulf is New Zealand's newest yachting destination. To shelter its 180 docks from fetching seas and passing island ferry wakes, but also to protect the area's ecologically sensitive environment, marina owners partnered with industry leader SF Marina to install two uniquely curved floating concrete breakwaters.

New launchings continue world-wide. After 2.5 years of development, Dragonfly Yachts have introduced their newest member of the Dragonfly range, the Dragonfly 36 Performance Cruiser. The World Premiere of the new Dragonfly 36 will be at BOOT Düsseldorf 2025. The Dragonfly 36 is designed for comfortable cruising in the fast lane. It sets new standards in terms of comfort, performance, practicality, and ease of handling—even with a short-handed crew or single-handed. The Dragonfly 36 will be available in two versions, both with carbon masts: the TOURING version with a self-tacking jib, and the PERFORMANCE version with an even taller rig and a larger overlapping furling headsail. Available in Australia from Dragonfly Yachts: kw@dragonflyyachts.com.au

The Melbourne Boat Show opened yesterday and Whittley Marine Group, Australia's leading fibreglass trailer boat builder, retailer and service provider, have announced the release of the new Limited-Edition SL 20 R model and the first Australian unveiling of the new Mercury Racing 150 R motor at the 2024 Melbourne Boat Show. This marks the first public viewing of the new Mercury Racing engine in Australia and is part of the ongoing partnership between the Whittley Marine Group and Mercury Marine.

Also at the show, Grand Inflatable Boats, a leading European manufacturer of luxury fiberglass rigid inflatable boats & tenders, are making their Australian boat show debut in partnership with Yamaha Marine. The European RIB brand, founded 23 years ago in Ukraine, announced their arrival into Australia this year and have since welcomed the entire Grand range of RIBs and tenders into the region, with a showroom and dealership on the Gold Coast.

Cruising into Docklands for the 62nd Melbourne Boat Show which runs until the 20th of October, Palm Beach Motor Yachts is looking forward to meeting visitors and sharing the brand's hallmarks of quality construction, impeccable finishes and the benefits of the Palm Beach Motor Yachts' proprietary V-WARP® Technology - a revolutionary design and construction process derived from Mark Richards' experience as an ocean-racing champion and shipwright, delivering class- leading performance and superior fuel efficiency.

Also from Melbourne, Ronstan's Orbit Winch Range Expands. Bigger, Faster, and Electric, Ronstan have announced several new additions to the successful Orbit Winch range, including larger sizes, three-speed configurations, and E1 Electric winches. The first Orbit Winches were released in 2023, with three sizes suitable for boats up to around 12m. Notably, the initial product launch marked the debut of the patented QuickTrim self-tailer. The significance of this unique innovation was acknowledged with the Orbit Winch being named as a 2023 DAME Award joint category winner.

More marine industry news at Marine Business World - Oceania-wide news from the largest boating news network updated daily.

Stay resilient,
Peter Rendle - peter.rendle@worldmarine.media

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